Careers in Broadcasting

Broadcasting is an exciting and rewarding subject to study, but once you
graduate, what options are out there for you in the working world? Read on for an overview of the
types of career paths available to you after your broadcasting education.

When most people think of broadcasting they imagine the smiling, immaculately coiffed reporters and
anchors they see in sports and the evening news. But the reach of the entire industry, and thus the
careers in broadcasting available to international students just out of school, is much roader. With
such a wide variety of jobs in television, radio, and online, broadcasting most certainly
has something for everyone.

On-Air Talent

Let's start off with those on-screen and on-air personalities that are most commonly associated with
broadcasting. On-air talent – that's anyone appearing on the television screen or radio
soundwaves, such as anchors, reporters and correspondents, and talk show hosts – are a small but
integral part of broadcasting. They are the face and voice of the broadcast, each tasked with a
combination of finding, interpreting, and delivering relevant stories and information to the broadcast
audience. On-air jobs, especially those jobs in television, are high exposure, high responsibility,
and may even come with an amount of local or national celebrity. Those who desire on-air careers in
broadcasting will need to perfect their speech, appearance, and poise and attain the general knowledge
necessary to process a wide variety of story types.

Technical Positions

Careers in broadcasting behind the camera or microphone are far more numerous. On the frontlines of
the daily broadcasting battle are countless workers in technically-oriented jobs. Camera-persons and
audio recording engineers work hard to attain the best visual and audio footage possible, both in the
comfort of the studio and in the field. While it may not come off as quite as adventurous, keep in
mind that every daring field reporter has at least one more person there to record the story! Editors,
on the other hand, stick almost exclusively to the broadcast studio, processing and refining recorded
footage as it comes in so it can be presented to the audience. Technical jobs in television and radio
such as editing or capturing footage are unique in that they require both deep technical knowledge and a
certain level of creativity, as these people are among the most influential in shaping the audio and
visual footage that the audience will hear and see. For international students with a love of
technology and electronics as well as a knack for creativity, one of broadcasting's many
behind-the-scenes technical careers may be perfect.

Producers

Behind-the-scenes careers in broadcasting aren't all cables, dials, and buttons, though. A handful of
different people shape each broadcast without much involvement in the technical details. Foremost
among these people is the producer, whose varied and often difficult duties include dispatching and
communicating with reporters in the field, choosing what will be broadcast and how, and overseeing
the entire broadcast itself. Producers need to have a working knowledge of all aspects of
broadcasting; while for some disciplines – namely the technical ones – their mastery needn't be
complete, they need to know enough to be able to assess and guide every other person involved in the
broadcast. Producing can be extremely high-pressure and carries a great responsibility, making it an
unattractive prospect for most but a very desirable position for just the right kind of ambitious,
problem-solving, performing-under-pressure personality.

Newswriters

Somewhat less intense among the non-technical off-camera positions is that of the newswriter.
Newswriting and reporting often coincide but don't necessarily have to. Whether a reporter or not, a
newswriter is tasked with researching stories (often going to the field for more information and
interviews) and writing the actual text of the story. A newswriter must have strong research skills
and be able to write in a direct but pleasant style.

This overview just scratches the surface of the jobs in
radio,
television,
and web broadcasting open
to international students. There are countless careers in broadcasting no matter what you are looking
for after graduation!

Learn more about studying broadcasting in the USA by reading our growing article collection.

Over time we will be updating this section and including more information for those who want to study
broadcasting in the USA and for other countries, but please feel free to post your thoughts and comments on our
Facebook fan page or
Google Circle, and also follow us and post
questions through Twitter.

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